Late afternoon warms the Hall of Welcome, and the garden terrace spills green light across the stone. Kynes stands easy at the rail, his healed hand bare and steady. Bren lingers beside him, relaxed for once.
Mara arrives with unusual hesitation, half a smile hidden behind her hair. At her side is Elias, a soft-spoken scholar carrying a bundle of notes and looking as though he has rehearsed his introduction three times.
Mara
Kynes, Bren, this is Elias. He has been helping me with the old histories, and... I wanted you to meet him properly.
Elias
It is a pleasure. Mara has made the hall feel less like a record and more like a place worth learning.
Bren
That is a careful thing to say in this house. I like him already.
Mara’s ears pink, but she does not look away from Elias. He glances at her, then at Kynes, polite and hopeful, as if waiting to learn whether he is welcome to stay.
Kynes
Mara chose him herself.
The terrace settles into an easy silence, with only wind in the leaves and the soft pulse of the house beneath the floor. Elias shifts his notes under one arm, still waiting for a response or a question.
✓ Quest Accepted
Welcome Elias into the Hall of Welcome
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn whether Elias can be trusted in the household
“Welcome Elias to the hall and invite him to share his research.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
Kynes gives Elias a long, measuring look, then tips his chin toward the open seats by the hearth. The gesture is spare, but it opens the hall to him.
Kynes
You can stay. Bring your notes in here, if you want.
Elias
Thank you. I would rather learn where I stand than guess at it.
Mara lets out a small breath she was holding. Bren’s mouth quirks at one corner, and the Ledger’s soft light steadies beside the archive table.
Bren
That is the first honest thing said in this room all afternoon.
Mara
He has been careful. Too careful, maybe. But he has not lied to us.
Elias
My notes are mostly old terrace histories, boundary marks, and a little house lore. If any of it helps, I can share it.
Kynes studies the scholar’s bundle, then the way Elias holds it, protective rather than possessive. The hall stays quiet, listening.
Quest Complete
Welcome Elias into the Hall of Welcome